The Different Types of Timber Floor Finishes

A beautifully polished timber floor looks great and it adds a touch of sophistication to your home. Not all kinds of floor timber finishes look the same and you should know about the basic types so that it’s easy for you to select the perfect finish for your timber floor.

Complex oil based or solvent added timber finish

This type of timber finish has a lot of oily alkyds in it mixed with complex urethanes. This mixture gives a smooth finish with high standards of abrasion resistance. Urethane containing oil based finishes are very common in the western world and are a popular commercial option for thousands of home owner.

This finish will come in a range of colours and it can provide a soft satiny look or a dark semi gloss appearance. Complex oil based finishes don’t edge bond boards and the colour will darken with time.

You are advised to choose one shade lighter paint color than what you really want for your timber floor. This finish will require high maintenance especially in areas having dense traffic. Using acrylic based timber floor polishing is the best way of protecting this finish.

Water based timber finish

This kind of finishes are composed of water based polyurethane and acrylic mixtures which last for a long time. Single pack water containing polyurethane comes with great resistance capacity. This particular version of timber finish has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years.